


Tony Stark's Guide to Martyrdom

by thejester



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Drabble, Gen, Pepper and Rhodey aren't actually in the fic but their friendship with Tony's important, Tony Snark, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony's still bitter about Civil War, but it's pretty mild in this story just fyi, haven't seen Thor Ragnorak yet so there's no spoilers from that, he snarks at Steve once or twice that's all, so am I
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-03
Updated: 2017-12-03
Packaged: 2019-02-10 00:10:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12899823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thejester/pseuds/thejester
Summary: Or, how to only gamble what you're willing to lose.Tony might not have known Thanos' name at first, but he's known that something's coming for ages now.  He's prepared, he's taking this threat seriously, it'll all work out in the end.  (Please, he thinks, let it all work out.  Let everyone survive.)





	Tony Stark's Guide to Martyrdom

**Author's Note:**

> There was a post on tumblr that went something like, "Tony Stark's going to die to save a world that never loved him." 
> 
> I disagreed, and then this fic happened. Hey, it's one way to shake off a writing slump.
> 
> See the notes at the end if you want to see spoilers for the Major Character Death. Also, if it's not too much trouble, please let me know if you see any typos! I don't have a beta and edited this myself.

Tony’s had years to prepare for the inevitable invasion from beyond the stars, and he has, he’s thrown his time and money into the Iron Legion, his armors, his teammates, shoring up defenses where he can, and doing everything he can to be ready.  And he knows.  All his hard work?  His genius, his charm, his blind, teeth-gritting desperation?  It won’t be enough.

But he has to try.

Stark men are made of iron, and he won’t back down from a fight. 

* * *

The battle comes all too soon.

Tony’s known terror plenty of times.  He was terrified when he flew a nuke into space, when a red mist dragged his worst nightmare out in front of him, when Ross threatened to issue a kill on sight order for his (former) teammates.  Watching Rhodey plummet from the sky and knowing, hating, how he wasn’t fast enough to catch him.  Watching Pepper fall, Extremis lighting up her body, and knowing he just wasn’t enough to save her.

It doesn’t compare to this.  Thanos, the Mad Titan himself, standing in the ruins of New York, surrounded by charred corpses, smiling amusedly at the forces gathered to stop him.  It wasn’t the only city hit, and Tony knows there are already countless others that are no better than charnel houses now.  Thanos is carrying the incomplete Infinity Gauntlet and his smile is the same, revolting self-assuredness that a lion would have when facing down some mice.

But when Thanos speaks, it’s not to the Guardians, Rogers’ team, the Asgardians, the Avengers, and anyone else who showed up to help.  No.  It’s to Tony, only Tony, and when the knowledge that this monster _knows_ him sinks in, it’s like ice replaces the blood in his veins.  It’s like Siberia all over again, and he’s frozen (and look Dad, now he finally has something in common with Captain America after all).  Tony’s been in the limelight all his life, _but not like this._

“Iron Man.  Merchant of Death.  How wonderful, to finally meet the one responsible for the death of one of my… smaller… armies.”  The nuke.  The wormhole.  But how does he know about Tony?  Thanos’ smile is wide and terrible, as if he can see Tony’s shock even through the faceplate. 

Tony recovers quickly.  “Weird, I didn’t realize I left any survivors.  Now who could have tattled on me?”  The words are playful, mocking.  Half of it’s because Tony can’t help but be abrasive, the other half is _dear god let him focus on me, keep the others out of it_.

“You piqued my curiosity,” Thanos replies in a voice like an earthquake.  Like a cataclysm.  “And what I learned was disappointing.”  Wow.  He and Rogers could start a club.  “You are not powerful, but what you have is influence.  Cunning.  But you never used them to reach your potential, and now here you stand, about to die for a world that never loved you.  How tragic.” 

In a backhanded way, this is the nicest thing Tony’s heard in… a while.  Before he can reflect on how sad that is, everything goes to absolute shit.

As if Thanos’ words were a sign, the rest of his army descends to Earth. 

Tony fires on solider after soldier, left arm twinging with every movement, but they keep coming.  A soldier gets him from a blind spot, Tony not quick enough to heed FRIDAY’s frantic warning, and suddenly his entire left arm’s not only stinging, it’s bare and dripping blood.  It doesn’t matter.  It can’t matter.  He shoots the bastard in the face with his remaining repulsor right when Gamora and Nebula manage to get past Thanos’ defenses just long enough to smack the gauntlet out of his hand before he knocks them both into a building. 

But the damage is done, and the shock in the air is palpable.  The sisters haven’t drawn blood, but they came close enough to make a difference.  There’s a sudden lull in the action, and then it’s as if everything’s happening in slow motion. 

The Infinity Gauntlet flies through the air and lands at Tony’s feet.

Tony?  Tony knows a game-changing opportunity when he sees one.  He picks it up.

Vision touches down a second later.

Vision’s hand is at his forehead before Tony realizes what’s happening.  There’s only one empty slot on the gauntlet.

Vision hesitates, looks Tony in the eye.

“No,” Tony forces out hoarsely.  _No, no, no._

“Mr. Stark,” Vision says, because he’d still been enough like JARVIS to like that name for Tony best, “Mr. Stark, it’s been a pleasure.  But we both know this is the only way.”  They both know the risks, the Guardians passed on the stories of just what one of the stones could do to a person, let alone the entire collection.  But there’s no other choice.

It’s like Yinsen all over again.

One more time, Tony Stark’s too late, and Iron Man’s not enough. 

Vision pulls the Mind Stone out of his forehead and holds it out for Tony.  Tony takes it, bloody fingers sliding around it, choking back tears as Vision’s body disintegrates.  “You too, Viz.”  Vision gives him a soft smile before it too disappears into embers.

The soldiers’ shock wears off and they lunge at him, and in the distance Tony can hear what might be Wanda’s anguished, enraged screams, or Thanos’ howl of suddenly impotent fury, but it doesn’t matter.  Tony quickly drags the Infinity Gauntlet over his left hand and snaps the stone into place.  There’s no time to mourn on a battlefield, but Vision’s sacrifice won’t go to waste.  He’ll make sure of it.

And then—

And then—

_Time and space spread out before him.  He could remake it, change it, and destroy it._

_He’s living his life over again, he’s living every life, every death, it’s all mixed up in his head: one second he’s floating before an imploding army, drowning in the starlight, watching the afternoon sun reflect off Pepper’s hair like fire, suffocating in water under the rough hands of the Ten Rings, relaxing on the couch with his team for a movie night that never happened_ but that he could make happen, _and Obadiah is there, congratulating him, pulling his heart out; Steve comes up behind the man who was once his uncle to drive his shield down again and again and again—_

_And it’s killing him, he’s dying now.  It’s all too much, all at once, and the universe unfolds behind his eyes.  “Enough,” he says, pleads, takes a fortifying breath that ignites the galaxies that replaced his lungs, curls his hand into a fist and.  Makes.  It.  Listen._

_He could change so much.  Improve it.  But there’s…  For all that he’s been accused of having an ego, he knows he’s not a god.  And he doesn’t have much time._

_For the first time since he became Iron Man, the path before him is clear.  Tony knows what he has to do._

* * *

And here’s the truth— Thanos is right, in a way.  Tony will die.  And it will save a world that never loved him, but it won’t be FOR that world.  The world never loved him, and he never needed it to.

When he sacrifices himself, it’s for Pepper, who loved him, who saw him through some of the worst, alcohol-drenched years of his life.  Pepper, who could take meaning from the contained chaos of modern art even if he never understood it for a second, who filled his home with color.

It’s for Rhodey, his best friend for decades, who never takes his shit but is the most compassionate man Tony’s ever known.  The man who’s his voice of reason but also the one right there with him in the lab when he’s on leave, making engineering happen with as many explosions as they can get away with.

It’s for Happy.  For Peter, Harley, Vision, his bots.  For the ones who stayed.

When Tony sacrifices himself, caught in the burning light of the Infinity Gauntlet, it’s for _his_ world. 

It’s for his family.

* * *

The next morning- because there is a next morning- New York wakes up.  They remember the Mad Titan, they remember the devastation, but it’s like a shared nightmare.  There’s no sign of him or the battle.

Vision’s eyes open, even though he never had a chance to close them.

Many people who didn’t have a chance to close their eyes are opening them right about now.  The buildings are exactly as they were before the ships touched down and torched everything.  (Later, the media around the world will call it a day of miracles and second chances.)

The heroes that gathered to fight Thanos are waking up in the same spots they were in when the battle abruptly ended.  All except for one.

“What… what happened?”  Mr. Rogers asks groggily from Vision’s left.

“We won,” Vision tells him quietly, and turns to look at Stark Tower.  He’s too far away to be sure, but he thinks he sees a solitary figure on the roof, looking out over the restored city.  It could be a trick of the light or plain wishful thinking, but...

Mr. Stark has died countless times, and always comes back.  He'd sacrifice himself for his loved ones, but he'd live for them, too.  Vision has no reason to believe this time will be any different. 

**Author's Note:**

> Major Character Death: Vision, Tony, and a whole lot of other people die, but they get better! 
> 
>  
> 
> I mean, I left it open-ended there at the end for Tony so interpret it as you like, but in my head Tony's alive, and everyone's impressed with him but he won't stop making jokes over breakfast about how fashion saved the day. "It's all about accessorizing!" "Tony, no."
> 
> Harley retaliates and bedazzles. Every. Last. Inch. Of Tony's armor. ("How's this for bling?") The fake jewels cover everything. It's like an armageddon of cheap plastic and glue. Tony's not sure whether he's proud or... no, he's just proud. Rhodey laughs so hard when he sees Tony wearing it (because of course Tony put it on immediately) that he almost falls out of his wheelchair. He slips the kid a five when no one's looking because a prank like that deserves a reward. Harley is unimpressed by the five and asks for more money. Rhodey does fall out of his wheelchair laughing that time. Harley is Even More Unimpressed.
> 
> Edit: It might take me a few months because of my schedule, but I do try to reply to any comments. Thanks everyone who left a comment or a kudos!


End file.
